The Journey Home
by Russell24
Summary: He broke his promise of not leaving her, but not of finding his way back. Post S5.
1. Chapter 1

_Disclaimer: I own nothing associated with TVD. I wrote this in my disappointment with the S5 finale. Although, I have complete faith that there will be a reunion between Damon and Elena in S6._

**The Journey Home**

The stars are brighter than he remembered them being, or maybe he just never really took the time to pay attention to them lately. His days of lying in the middle of the road stopped not long after returning to Mystic Falls. Back then it had given him a way to unwind and process the things going on in his life, meeting Elena had changed that. He became preoccupied with her and started to care less about time to himself and more about his time with her. Although, the non-stop flood of evil trying to take over the town and their lives was not only old, but was starting to wear down on all of them. However, nothing in the past was as bad as this. He had never seen her so broken, not even when Stefan had his heart ripped out of his chest three months ago, not when Jeremy died, not when Alaric was gone. He completely broke her, and it let him see just how much she was in love with him. He knew exactly what she must have gone through in the last few months. He had at one time thought about what he would do if he had lost her and he had come to the morbid conclusion that he would rather join her in death than be without her on earth. Although, she was much stronger of a person than he, she had lost so many people but at some point he knew she wasn't going to be able to take the weight of the heavy heart she carried.

His fingers clench at the loose dirt under the palms of his hands, the grit felt good against his skin, allowed him to know this was real and that he was alive. Somehow they had ended up back here, in the forest where they had left behind the people they held dear. He feels weak and finds it hard to muster up the strength to get to his feet but uses her as his muse to try to get back to town, or whatever was left of it.

He stumbles slightly through the dead leaves and reaches for a tree, leaning on it for support as he tries to steady himself. His body was heavy again, not like it had been in recent months. Looking up at the sky, he studies the moon and direction, trying to gauge what time it is. He concludes it's close to eight-thirty, meaning he wouldn't reach home for another hour or so on foot. There was no faster way than old fashioned walking due to his non-existent strength. He was completely vulnerable to anything that may try to attack him, but he'd cross the bridge if it presented itself.

"Bonnie!?" He says as loudly as possible. He knew she was somewhere, but not exactly sure where. There had been a bright light before darkness took him and he wasn't sure if they would end up together or where they would even end up. He realized it may have taken her longer to come to, seeing as he wasn't even sure how long he'd been out before he opened his eyes for the first time in his second life.

"Bonnie?" He continues to weave in and out of the large trees, stopping every now and then to gain some strength back in his legs to continue. "Shit." He says under his breath.

"I'm here." Her voice cuts through the forest quickly as the sound of breaking branches under her feet fill his ears. She emerges a moment later, hugging herself from the cold air. Without hesitation he removes his jacket and hands it to her. To say their relationship had changed over the past few months would be an understatement. They had gone through something profound and they had done it together. Any past grudges had been released when they had found peace.

"I hope you woke up somewhere softer than I did." She says as she takes his leather jacket from him and slips it on. It's about two times too big for her, but he knows it will do her well.

"Honestly, it doesn't even matter. What matters is we woke up." He says as he shakes his head and leans over with his hands on his knees. "I really need a drink. I'm dying here." He tells her. "We need to get home."

She nods and immediately walks over to him, putting her arm around his back and supporting him as they push away from the tree and start the long hike back to civilization. He allows her to support him, but tries hard not to hurt her, knowing she was probably just as tired as he was, except she wasn't going through starvation. After a few minutes they reach the road and decide to stay on it incase they're passed by any motorists willing to help.

"Damon, how are we going to do this? I mean, they think we're dead. This isn't something you should just surprise someone with."

"What other option do we have?" He groans. "No matter how we break it the shock is always going to be there. Why not do it in grand fashion?"

She laughs slightly. "I'm glad to see you haven't lost you're knack for theatrics."

"I'm not saying we have to throw it in their faces. But come on, we beat the odds; your Grams somehow got us back here. I'm never going to understand it because it's beyond my knowing as to how we could possibly be let go from being at peace."

"Maybe they realized we had more to do." She shrugs.

"Maybe." He says.

As they draw nearer to town he is suddenly stopped by an immense pain in his stomach, which causes him to double over and clench the area it's radiating from. As he pulls his hand back he sees blood and they both immediately know there's no going back.

"The spell is still over Mystic Falls, Damon. There's no way they're still here."

They immediately turn around and start walking back the way they came and slowly the pain starts to subside, the wound healing with ease, leaving only a trail of blood on his shirt. The last thing he needed was to lose more precious blood, something he was already starving for.

"The lake house." Damon says as he puts his arm around Bonnie's shoulders once again. "They have to be there, it has to be outside the range of the spell."

"Well, we'd better start walking."

It takes them a little over an hour to finally find a ride going in the same direction, which cuts down their traveling time drastically and allows them both to rest. They're dropped off at the end of the driveway and they both utter a thank you before the car drives away, Damon having a bit more to be thankful for as he was able to compel a drink out of the driver. He was starting to feel better every passing moment as the blood coursed through his system and finds he has the strength to walk under his own power without the support of Bonnie.

They walk down the gravel drive and just as their about to walk up the front steps, he stops. Her cries aren't anything like the last time he had seen her, these are soft and withheld and as he turns around he can see her silhouette on the moonlit dock. He turns back to Bonnie and the understanding between them is instant. Bonnie quietly enters the house as he makes his way back down the steps. He nears her cautiously and even though he knows that she can hear footsteps, she doesn't turn around.

"Please, just leave me." She says softly in a broken voice. "Just let me be."

She seems somewhat irritated and he immediately imagines that everyone in the house had been trying to get her to move on, which she obviously wasn't ready to do. Elena didn't give up easily on the things she believed in. She was so beautifully stubborn when it came to the people she loved. It was a trait he admired and one that also infuriated him sometimes. He never wanted her to be in danger, but she always insisted on going along for the ride when it came to anything that involved those she loved. She always wanted a part of the action, which meant he always had to worry for her safety. She was acting just as he thought she would, she was withdrawn and plagued by her own thoughts and denial. They were two of a kind when it came to not letting things go.

"Never again." He says softly.

Even from ten feet away, he can see her body become rigid in the darkness, her sobbing halts for the time being and it takes only a short moment for her to turn her head around to look at him. The wet trails of tears down her cheeks glisten in the moonlight and he has a hard time finding the courage to just stand there. She had shed too many tears for him and because of him. Elena wasn't ever a girl to him, she was always a woman. The moment she lost her parents she became a woman and lost the years that most people have fond memories of, the times where adult problems weren't a problem at all. Somehow, they always were for her and he knew exactly what that felt like.

He takes a step forward and it causes her to stand from the wooden bench. She's facing him fully now, with her arms crossed holding her sweater closed in the cool night breeze. She starts shaking her head as he keeps taking steps towards her and when he finally comes to stand in front of her she starts crying again.

"This isn't real." She says shaking her head.

"Baby, I can assure you I'm real." He tells her as he raises his hand to her cheek and brushes away at the tears with his thumb. Her eyes become wide and he pulls her into his arms, holding her tight against him. Her body is shaking as the sobs take over her once again. "I'm so sorry. I never meant to break your heart."

He's not sure how long they stand there, but he feels blessed for every moment. The way she melts into him lets him know she was still his, she hadn't let him go one bit. Her hot tears are now running down his neck and soaking into his shirt, but they feel good to him, because he can actually feel. He presses a hard kiss into her hair and rubs soothing circles on her back as she continues to cry. She pulls away from him slightly to look at him she raises her hands to his face, running them along his cheeks and through his hair as if she still didn't believe him, or she had just forgotten what it felt like to touch him. He grabs one of her hands and presses it to his chest, over his heart. The faint beating brings a smile to her lips, even through her tears.

"No more good-byes." He tells her.

"You completely broke me…" She says softly.

He's silent, not knowing what to say. It was true, he knew without a doubt that his death had brought her the most sadness since the loss of her parents. Nothing came close to how torn apart losing him made her feel. There was something unspoken between them that no one knew about, something special they shared that the no one quite understood. Most people hated him and turned their back to any sort of friendship he may have offered, she never turned away. She always tried to make him a better person, tried to keep him sane and bring out the good that she knew was in his heart. Funny, she had finally done so, because the reason all this came about was because he made the decision to save Liz Forbes instead of following Elena through the woods. He had made an unselfish decision that didn't evolve Elena for once, but instead, another. Truth be told, if he had the choice presented to him and knew the consequences, he wasn't sure he'd make the same decision.

"I know."

Without warning her hand comes up and strikes him in the face. The noise was sharp in the night air and the sting left behind was welcomed by him. He didn't bring his hand up to touch it. Instead, he kept his head in the direction her hand had forced it, looking down at the glimmering water. He was disappointed in himself, something she had no idea of. To say he was sorry was definitely an understatement, no apology would ever make what happened alright. He isn't aware of the tears in his own eyes until his vision gets blurry and his eyes grow hot. She had never seen him cry, not once, not even at the realization that Tyler's possessed body had ripped out Stefan's heart. So, he keeps his head turned and waits for her to walk away, but she doesn't. Instead, she moves closer to him, almost pressed against him as she lifts his chin with her finger, willing him to look her in the eyes. He does so with confidence when she forces him, not looking away as the look of surprise sweeps across her face. She was taken aback by his emotion, and he only hoped she understood just how sorry he was, since words would never be enough.

"I love you, Elena. I would do anything to take back everything that's happened, but I can't, I'll never be able to."

"I know, Damon." She tells him. "I know you can't. You did what you thought you had to do to protect the people you love. I more than anyone understand that. But, I was being selfish; I didn't want it to be you. After everything we've been through I didn't want it to be you."

"I didn't want it to be me either, baby. But I didn't have a choice."

She nods understandably and closes the distance between them, kissing him tenderly. She begins to relax in his arms and as he pulls her closer, he realizes not even peace was worth missing this, being here with her was his future. She was where he wanted to be, he would always choose her.

He feels a soft breeze against his skin and opens his eyes to find the unfamiliar sight of the wood covered ceiling in the master bedroom of the Gilbert lake house. The warm weight on his chest puts him at ease and he gently raises his hand to rest on her bare waist, pulling her closer to him in between the crisp white sheets. She's resting peacefully, her left hand lying still on his bare chest. As he lies there, he remembers how he was barley able to hold it together as he said good-bye to her. It made him realize that he had taken her and the love she had given him for granted. He had wasted many days not returning it in the same manner she shoveled it out, he promised himself that would never happen again. She deserved to feel appreciated and special, and by God he was going to make her as happy as he possibly could given the crazy lives they led.

His mind is on the ring hanging from the silver chain on her neck, the brilliant blue sapphire shimmering and catching his attention as he made love to her once they retreated from the long awaited reunion downstairs. He had wanted to say something, but she hadn't brought it up, so he said nothing. It had been in his bedside drawer back in Mystic Falls and was something he had actually forgotten about due to how quickly the unseen evil had taken over their home. How she retrieved it, he was unsure of. It had belonged to his mother, and had been in terrible shape until he had taken it in to have it reset in white gold that he had known was her size and was not tarnished. Stefan didn't know of its existence, it had never been something that came up in conversation, and he never planned on making it known to anyone but her. He snakes his right arm up and around to the back of her neck, pushing aside her hair slightly to reach the lobster claw clasp. He carefully undoes it with one hand and pulls the necklace away from her, which causes her to stir and open her eyes.

"What are you doing?" She asks through sleep.

He lays the necklace down on his chest so he can see it better and grasps the end of the chain, pulling it up in the air, leaving only the ring lying on his chest in front of them. He can see her eyes are wide open now. She watches as he plays with the ring under his fingers, turning it and looking at it in the moonlight. His movements are just right to get it to sparkle enough for them both to see its stunning beauty.

"Where did you find this?" He asks.

"Jeremy brought it back from the house. I asked him to get a few things; he found it and thought it was mine."

"It is yours." He tells her. "But it wasn't meant for a necklace."

"Is it a daylight ring?" She asks.

"No." He tells her. She picks it up and tries to slide it onto her index finger, when it doesn't fit she takes it off and he immediately plucks it from her grasp."It's not meant for that finger, sweetheart." He says softly into her hair as he takes it between his fingers and slides it on to her ring finger.

He holds her hand in his and admires how perfect it looks. Her breathing halts for a moment after his actions and she slowly lifts her head off his chest, moving to sit up slightly so she can see him better. The smile on his face must have been contagious, because she immediately mirrors it and leans up to kiss him. He doesn't bother asking, he feared it would only ruin the silent moment they were having. The moment where just looking into her eyes told him everything he ever needed to know and made everything okay. The woman was truly amazing, and how he was ever lucky enough to have found her was beyond him, how he was ever able to find his way back to her was beyond him as well. There was a small part of him that wondered if the universe had always been pointing their paths towards one another. His first 173 years were nothing compared to the life they were just about to start together. The life both of them deserved.


	2. Chapter 2

_Disclaimer: I own nothing associated with TVD.  
_

_Thanks to all of you that left reviews, I appreciate them and please keep them coming! ;) It was because of you and the positive responses that I decided to continue on with this._

* * *

The sunrise glistening off the calm lake kept his attention enough to keep him from realizing just how long he'd been sitting here. He had left her alone under the sheets, sure now that the warmth was gone and she'd soon wake up noticing his absence. He had, however, left her with a gift to ease her mind when she noticed him gone. The scent of the blooming roses on the side of the house had attacked his senses as soon as he stepped foot on the front porch, he knew at once one of them was meant for her and he quickly sheered it off, quietly sneaking it onto the pillow his head had rested on the night previous. He reminded himself that it was the little things that would make the most impact, and possibly heal her heart just a bit quicker. She deserved so much more than he could give her, but he also wondered if there was anyone that could give Elena Gilbert everything she deserved in life. At the moment, comforting her and making her smile were his top priorities; everything else would fall into place when the time was right.

"You're up early." Alaric's voice cuts through the heavy morning air. He stands near the wooden bench, still dressed in the clothes he had slept in. He stands carefully on the weathered dock as to not get splinters in the bottom of his bare feet.

"Figure I can sleep when I'm dead." Damon says sarcastically with a weak smirk.

"Yeah, well. Let's hope that doesn't happen ever again." Alaric says as he rocks back on his heels.

"I didn't get a chance to ask you last night since part of me was too afraid to ask in front of and already distraught and anxious crowd. Where's my brother?" Damon asks as he looks over at Alaric, seriousness written all over his face. He had just gotten Stefan back, had given him a second chance at life and it was hard for him to comprehend Stefan being anything but grateful.

"We all dealt with losing you and Bonnie in different ways. I'm afraid this wasn't one that anyone saw coming, you'd think he'd be distraught, instead he's in South Carolina ripping heads off."

Damon is silent for a moment, his heart drops and he immediately feels regret. All of the bad that came from this Travelers debacle had taken its toll on everyone. It had taken so long and been so hard to bring Stefan back from the edge and now he was faced with having to do it all over again. The one thing that was different about the dark side of Damon and Stefan was that Damon only killed the people he intended to kill. Stefan had no idea at the time of his choosing that he would regret it afterwards. Damon never had any regrets, not even with Aaron. Although he would never tell Elena, Aaron was the last piece of the puzzle when it came to making sure there was no future Augustine vampires.

"Exact whereabouts?"

Alaric shakes his head and crosses his arms over his chest. "We're only assuming due to the reports out there of missing people and gruesome murders. They think it's a serial killer."

"Yeah, well, they'd be right." Damon says as he stands up and walks closer to the water, looking out over its glass like appearance. He sighs and rubs his hand over his face. "We need to find him before this gets worse."

"I know. But I've been a little preoccupied with taking care of your grieving girlfriend and her brother."

"How bad was it?" Damon asks in a low voice. Part of him didn't want to know because he knew any answer given to him would only break his heart and make him feel more guilt than he already had. He imagined she had cried herself to sleep many nights or at least to the point where it had left her with a headache. The sight of her sobbing still chilled him to the bone; he never wanted to see her like that again.

"Maybe that's something you should talk to her about?"

"You really think it's a good idea to bring it up and make her relive the past three months all over again?"

Alaric sighs and finally takes a seat on the bench Damon previously held.

"I don't know what you want me to tell you, other than things have been bad Damon. Elena cries herself to sleep just about every night, Jeremy goes for walks and sometimes doesn't come back until the next morning, Caroline is just…moody, I have no idea where to go from here. We have nothing right now, no money and no home. This isn't a permanent solution, If you haven't noticed." Alaric says as he motions around them.

"Elena was on our account; you should have had plenty of money." Damon says turning around.

"Except for the fact that Stefan took all of it out and did God knows what with it."

Damon shakes his head in disbelief. Things just seemed to be getting worse as the minutes passed and the details were made known to him. How Stefan could blow through millions in only three months was beyond his understanding. Luckily, something none of them knew was that Damon had kept a nice little stash in another account that he hadn't touched in years, it had been invested numerous times and by now he knew the sum had to be fairly large.

"I'll deal with the money. We need to figure out where we're going to live. It's not like six people can just move to a small town and not expect to get suspicious glances from the townies."

"Well, before we go putting down any permanent roots, I think we need to case some of the prospects. I'm sure we are going to run into folks who aren't too keen on our kind invading their town."

"Agreed." Damon says.

"Glad to have you back, brother." Alaric says as he gives Damon a pat on the shoulder. "It's nice to not be alone trying to figure this out. I'm not so sure I have confidence in doing what's best for us all."

"Yeah, well. Last time I checked I wasn't exactly full of good ideas."

* * *

She's awoken by the bright sunlight entering through the room and her eyelids. She never understood how he could stay sleeping when such interrupting rays filled the room, gauging by how bright it was, she came to the conclusion it was late in the morning and no one dared think to wake them from their comfortable slumber. That is, until she realizes he's already woken and left her alone in bed. Worry suddenly takes her mind, but she's soon calmed by the bright red rose lying perfectly on the pillow next to her. She couldn't believe just last night she was a complete shell of her former self, her heart was heavy and at times she contemplated whether or not it was even worth it, if going on was worth it. No one knew just how much she meant to him, they thought their relationship was immature and based on lust, Caroline had made that clear many times. Even in recent months she had tried to act like nothing had happened, like Elena would be fine and everything would go back to normal. She had lectured her countless times about how it wasn't meant to be and how she should move on. To say that it made everything hurt more wasn't quite hitting the nail on the head, it tore Elena apart, made her feel even more alone in a world where Damon always knew the right thing to make her better. Just because she was young didn't mean she didn't know the true meaning of loving someone. She had lost too many people to take it for granted. Somehow, every one of those loses was made more bearable by him. While she would admit that they both could act immature are times, their relationship itself was far from it. It grew over the years and did so slowly and under the scrutiny of those around them. But they never took the time to understand just how Damon Salvatore won over her heart. He did so unconventionally, through ways that were sometimes infuriating and sometimes touching. He never said anything or did anything he didn't mean to do, and while some of those things may have hurt her feelings, he was always honest and true to her. This was one of those moments that no one would ever be witness to, that no one would ever understand how a man that seemed so set on destruction could possibly find the beauty in the smallest gesture.

She picks the rose up by its stem, careful not the prick herself as she takes in its refreshing scent. As she lays it on the dresser and sees her clothes strewn all over the wood floor, she can't help but blush. It had been a late night for everyone, she and Damon had retreated around two o'clock leaving the rest of them to fend for themselves. While she was so happy that they were all together, it was terribly hard to just sit there on the couch with him with his hand on her exposed thigh the entire time. It had caused her breath to hitch a couple of times and Damon had cut the groups conversation short when he had noticed her restlessness. Promising to continue the conversation in the morning when everyone was well rested and thinking more clearly. He had followed her up the stairs and locked the door behind them quietly. What transpired after was something he took his time with, it was different, he was different.

She finally finds the energy to slip out of bed and immediately heads for the shower, not bothering to pick her clothes up from the floor. The only thing she was still wearing was her ring, which she carefully slipped off her finger and set on the edge of the sink. Just looking at it made her smile, while she was no where near ready to take that step yet, it brought her hope knowing that he had made that promise to her and that one day when they were both ready, it would happen.

Over the years she had seen the way women looked at him. Both Salvatore brothers had been blessed with good genes, but Damon was by far the sexiest man she'd ever laid eyes on. Although she knew he had been with many other women, she was quite sure he would say no one ever came close to her. It was the way he held her, looked at her, and touched her that told her everything she needed to know. She was all he wanted in life, she had been his mission from the beginning and he had succeeded. She never grew jealous of the past, knowing she was the only woman to hold that special place in his heart. She was the only one that he had allowed to know all of him, and she would forever treasure that.

She takes a shower in a hasty manner. Partly because she felt the urge to be near him, and part because she wanted to know exactly what was going on and what plans were being made. Once satisfied with her cleanliness, she rushes out of the shower and slips her ring back on before opening the bathroom door. She jumps as soon as she sees him, not expecting him to be seated on the edge of the bed, waiting for her to emerge. She stands there, completely naked and exposed, yet all he does is watch her appreciatively. There were no snarky comments or suggestive facial expressions. Just his eyes wandering and lingering as she stood there.

"I wasn't expecting you." She says somewhat embarrassed.

"I would hope that even if you had known, you wouldn't be shy to walk around like that in front of me." He tells her with a smirk. "You're absolutely gorgeous, Elena Gilbert."

She smiles softly before she starts to rummage through her drawers.

"However, you'd better put on some clothes rather quickly before I throw you back in bed and spend the rest of the day making all of this up to you." He says as he stands and walks over to her. He places a soft kiss on her damp forehead before watching her pull clothes from the drawer. "You don't happen to have an extra shirt of mine lying around, do you? I don't think this is going to wash out." He says pointing to his blood stained t-shirt.

She hesitates for a moment before opening another drawer that housed some of her t-shirts. Next to hers was a dark blue button up that he immediately recognized. It was somewhat wrinkly, and he found one of her stray hairs left on the collar as she pulled it out.

"This is all I have." She tells him.

There were two ways he understood her answer. It was, in fact, the only shirt she had taken from his house and was his only option. However, the weakness in her voice and sadness in her eyes told him something more. She had held onto it for the sake of having something of his that was tangible. The way she looked at it was as if she was parting with something dear to her heart and at that moment he knew she must have slept in it countless nights, which would explain the wrinkles and the hair. He didn't mind one bit, in fact, it smelled like her now more than it ever did him. But it didn't take away from knowing she had shed tears on it, scratched at the soft material as she daydreamed about his journey home.

He takes the shirt from her hands and sets it on top of the dresser before pulling her into his arms and holding her. It was all he could do, and part of him knew she understood why exactly he wasn't speaking. He wanted her to know it was alright, that everything was going to change and that the shirt was no longer needed in order for her to feel close to him again.

"You should get dressed." He tells her finally, reluctantly letting go of his grasp around her velvety skin. She brushes the tears from her eyes and continues to grab her things as he watches her.

"Elena?"

"Yeah?" She says without making eye contact.

"I love you."

When she does turn her head to look at him he can tell she believes it more than anything right now, and he makes it the only thing that matters at the moment. The smile on his face makes her giggle softly and wipe at her tears fiercely to will them away.

"I know, Damon. I always have."


	3. Chapter 3

She had lost track of how many miles they had traveled since their departure early this morning. He had woken her from her light slumber around two in the morning to let her know they were ready to leave. She had rubbed her eyes and groaned, not wanting to leave the warm bed they had both helped create. His gaze had followed with the question once more of whether she really wanted to partake in the dark journey ahead. She hadn't answered him with words, just simply sat up with eyes still closed, causing him to laugh and place a soft kiss on her forehead. She had remembered climbing into the backseat of her Ford Escape with a pillow and blanket held to her chest, Damon had followed close behind with a duffle bag prepared for their short road trip. She had followed along with the quiet conversation him and Alaric were having in the front, but soon drifted back to sleep.

She woke up to the light of dawn and the sound of soft modern country music flowing gently through the car stereo system. She peered through the small crack between the pillar near the passenger's window and the front passenger seat to find Alaric's head resting up against the glass. She assumed he was sleeping. She looks over towards Damon, who is watching the road and checking his rearview mirror more often than necessary. She catches his glance in the mirror, which was sitting at a rather odd angle.

"Since when do you listen to country music?" She asks, tucking her hands under her cheek and watching his eyes move around. He looks up at her only briefly as they drive through an intersection.

"I don't." He tells her.

"Aren't you supposed to be watching the road?" She asks quietly. She was glad his gaze was only through the mirror, it hid the heat rising in her cheeks.

"Gets monotonous just staring at the asphalt. You're so peaceful when you sleep." He tells her as he looks down at the road, then up at her again. Even just the reflection of his eyes causes her insides to tingle. He had the most magnificent glacier blue eyes she had ever had the privilege of seeing and he was able to do so much with them. While not everyone could pick up on it, she could see his every emotion. The look that made her flush was the look of longing and lust whenever they were separated from each other. In the past, he had taken many opportunities to study her, and every time she had felt the heat rise in her cheeks before she had the courage to meet his gaze. It was something she hadn't experienced with anyone but him. She was the love of his life and she knew that without a doubt. There had been a time when they had actually sat down and talked about it, about his past, about Katherine. After a good amount of bourbon he had confided that he had come to the realization that his infatuation with Katherine was just that, an unhealthy infatuation. He had gone through the early stages in his life where he had been treated with disrespect by his father, it had been seared into his brain that such treatment was somewhat normal and when he met Katherine he let her take control of him, just as his father had before her. That control hadn't ceased until he had met Elena, until he had realized how it felt to be genuinely cared for. She had been somewhat shocked to hear him say it, not knowing just how lonely and broken a man he had been. The thing about Damon is that if you show him respect he will show you the same. He was a completely different man when he was around the people he loved.

The future she saw with him was something to look forward to. She had spent a lot of time dealing with problems not all young women normally dealt with at nineteen. She had done a terrible job keeping hold of Jeremy after their parents had died. It seemed that none of that had changed, as her advice was never helpful to him. If anything it was condescending and hypocritical of her since she had also done things she wasn't proud of. She had tried to help him move past Bonnie, which was a joke seeing as she slept in Damon's shirt every damn night he was gone. There had been a point where both of them stopped talking about their losses and just dealt with it in their own ways, be it good or bad, right or wrong. Before all of this had happened, Damon had stepped in to relieve some of the pressure weighing on her. She wasn't sure when it had started, if it was last summer when they had found out Bonnie was gone the first time, or if it had been much earlier. While his ways were unconventional, he had somehow stepped into a role that seemed to slow Jeremy down. While she was sure Damon was not anywhere near friend status with Jeremy, she had seen the look on his face when he found out Damon was gone. To him, Damon had been that asshole who always gave him a hard time, which in turn made Jeremy stronger willed. But he was also the asshole that looked out for him and at the end of the day he never once abandoned or turned his back on him or his sister. Damon had a soft spot in his heart for Jeremy. She wasn't sure what it was, because Damon would try hard to downplay it.

Damon veers the car into an open fueling station on the left side of the road and pulls the car up next to one of the empty pumps. He gets out of the car before leaning over to retrieve Elena's credit card from the cup holder full of loose change under the radio. He gives her a quick smile before closing the door, waking Alaric in the process.

"What!?"

Elena laughs out loud as she pulls herself to a sitting position and leans forward through the front seats.

"Were at the gas station. Want anything from inside?" She asks as she straightens out her dark blue t-shirt. He nods as she opens the door. Once her feet touch the pavement she realizes just how stiff her legs had become by being crumpled up in the backseat. She stretches her arms above her head, which gained the attention of two middle aged men sitting at a small picnic table near the glass door leading into the small store. They were sipping their sweet tea as they watched her, and as she looked back over at Damon, she was glad he hadn't noticed. He'd have had a few choice words for them, possibly more. Although, he also had quite an intimidating glare, so one look may have made the point well enough.

She steps around the other side of the car and stands next to him as he starts pumping gas. She can see the beads of sweat already forming on his skin due to the humid morning air. He starts to pull the dark fabric away from his chest, which is starting to adhere rather nicely, well, atleast the way she saw it.

His situation wasn't ideal at the moment. Only having a few shirts to use of Alaric's, and his own long sleeve shirt that was unforgiving in this heat. She felt pity for him and helped him pull the fabric away from his back. She moved it back and forth, trying to get airflow between the two surfaces and help him stay cool.

"Sorry." He says simply, expecting her to grimace at the sweet liquid that was making his skin slippery. However, she simply smiles and lays her hand on his chest as she leans up to give him a kiss. Partially for herself and partially to show the two over appreciative men behind them that she was with him and let them draw their own conclusion just exactly what he could do to them for making her feel uncomfortable. She losses herself in his eyes for a short moment, recognizing the look of longing beaming back at her. She finds that her breath catches in her throat as she tries to figure out just what was going on in his head. She was sure if he had the choice and it wasn't an indecent public act he would take her right there in the gas station parking lot. They had always had passion for one another, but it seemed to have grown even further.

The rest of the small pit stop went smooth. Coffee was bought and by the time she and Alaric exited the small humid convenient store, Damon had already figured out how to get through the downtown area and to their destination. It was the first stop on their road trip. A condemned apartment building on the south side of the city that had been locked up by police due to ongoing violence in the neighborhood and the unhealthy nature of the building. There had been twelve missing women whose DNA was sure to be found in the apartment, all of whom were still missing, most likely dead.

Damon pulls up across the street from a rundown brick three story and parks at the curb. All three of them look out the window as a few questionable individuals walk by. The wheels in Damon's head start to turn, she can see it as he turns and looks at her through the rearview mirror.

"I'm not staying here, if that's what you're thinking."

Alaric looks over at Damon, somewhat confused as to what she was even talking about. The silent conversation hadn't been something he noticed.

"I can handle myself around some drugged up scumbags."

"It's not them I'm worried about." He says under his breath as he steps out of the car. She follows suit and walks around to stand next to him. "You haven't seen him this far gone."

"How do you even know how bad it is? What if, once he sees you, he snaps out of it and he's fine again?"

"Doubt that will happen, sweetheart." He tells her. "He's flipped his switch. I believe you remember what line I had to cross in order to get your beautiful mind back."

He was right. She knew how hard it was to be pulled back form the edge. Damon and Stefan had tried everything to get her back, well, Damon had at least. She knew Stefan didn't want anything to do with the physical torture that happened as they tried to bring her back. However, Damon being Damon, he always knew exactly what he had to do and he followed through. He was good at making the hard decisions, the ones that no one else wanted to make. And while she was angry that he had snapped Matt's neck to make his point, it worked. He knew better than anyone how to fix certain situations. He knew how to produce results and many people hated him for his tactics. However, many people also benefited from his tactics and in the end they never appreciated what he was trying to accomplish.

"Why don't Elena and I go through the front? You can take the back entrance."

Once again she sees the wheels turning in Damon's mind. He didn't like the idea of her wandering through the abandoned building without being by his side. He felt she would be vulnerable, although Alaric was quite a guardian and there wasn't a chance in hell he was going to let anything happen to the girl he considered to be a daughter. She watched him hesitate at first, but he ultimately agreed, knowing well enough that his resurrection was something that should be kept quiet until it needed to be voiced. His hand brushes hers as he steps away from her and starts to head across the street toward the boarded up building. As she watches him disappear, she can't help but plead to whatever higher being there was to keep him safe. She couldn't lose him again, and she wasn't quite sure what Stefan was capable of while he was lusting for carotid arteries.

She follows closely behind and as they sneak through the loose piece of plywood covering the front door, she can't help but feel as though they don't belong snooping around. The drugged up deadbeats on the floor in various corners of the dimly lit lobby were passed out or relaxed to a point of not caring about their new, coherent visitors. They take the stairs to the second floor, minding their steps and careful not to step on the used needles discarded so tragically. She was feeling the urge to shower already, and she hadn't even touched anything. She wanted to make a comment, voice her disgust, but they were trying to be quiet in their approach. The drywall was cracking all around them and there were fist size holes in the wall everywhere.

"This would be a perfect place to hide if you didn't want anyone finding you." Alaric says as he peaks his head around the corner to check the corridor once they reach the second floor. There was an eerie feeling in the air as they approached the single closed door. Squatters had touched all rooms but one, it had been an easy giveaway as to where to check first. Alaric pauses for a moment as they both try to listen, she knows full well he's hearing the same shuffling around inside that she hears and she can feel her nerves start to tense. It had been months since she'd seen Stefan, she had no idea how this was going to affect him and she had no idea if they could even bring him back. She used to think she was the answer, but the more she watched, the more she understood that Damon was always the one to bring him out of this curse. She knew that he had done it before, and was hopeful he'd do it once again.

Elena gives a slight nod to Alaric as his hand grips tighter around the tarnished door knob. He turns it quickly and as soon as the door opens they are met by a tall figure. Damon was blocking the entrance and from the looks of it what was inside wasn't going to be something she would forget anytime soon. He steps away from the door and walks back into the warm, unventilated apartment. The first thing she smelled was blood, lots of it. She immediately noticed the bathroom door was shut and started to move in its direction.

"Don't go in there." He tells her. "It's not something you want to see." He says as he shakes his head. It took everything in her to trust him and turn around. She already knew what Stefan was capable of, Damon was correct; she didn't have to see it. It would only give her nightmares, and the stench told her all she needed to know. She was able to pickup on two different blood types, which meant there was more than one. Why he was keeping them she wasn't sure, but she was sure they were no longer alive.

"He really fell off the deep end." Damon comments as he shuffles around some papers on the kitchen table. There had to have been a dozen identification cards from who they believed to be his victims. As Damon studies a few of the women's pictures more closely, she picks up a business card that had been shuffled to the top of the pile.

"What's this?" She asks as she starts to read it. Damon immediately moves around the table and stands next to her, struggling to read the smudged red and black ink. One she deciphers it; she can't help but laugh softly. She found it very strange that Stefan would be interested in a gentlemen's club, afterall, if that was where he stalked his prey, there wouldn't be much of a club left.

"Not exactly how you thought you'd be spending your morning?"

"I've never stepped foot in a place like that."

"You don't have to go. We can find a motel…"

"And let those nasty women hang all over you? You're out of your mind!"

She can tell he loves her jealous nature showing through, it wasn't like her to act this way, but she couldn't help it. She had just been given him back. She was quite sure that he found almost everything about her sexy and she could only imagine what was going through his mind right now. She would protect what was hers if she saw another woman lay a hand on him, without a doubt. He was hers and she wasn't going to let anyone of them near him. He was a magnate to almost all women and even though she knew he would never even dream of acting on any propositions, she felt better being by his side. She knew if their roles were reversed he'd be acting the same way. He wouldn't let any other man come near her or even look at her. The men at the gas station earlier had been lucky, if he had seen their wandering eyes he would have taken care of business. They were both fiercely protective individuals.

"I'm going." She tells him before swinging around and continuing to scour the living space. She left Damon with a smirk and Alaric with an indifferent look on his face.


End file.
